If you were teaching a history class

LauraMax

LauraMax

Cathlete
in 2060, could you sum up this decade in a single sentence? I started thinking about it when I heard about that poor Freddie Mack CFO this morning, b/c my first thought was "well, that about says it all about our current social climate."

Then I had to backtrack b/c so much more has happened in the last 10 years. I might be superstitious or just totally out of touch, but I feel like our downward spiral started on 9/11.

In the early 20th c. you had the age of expansion, in the 1920s & 30s you had the Great Depression, WWII in the 40s, McCarthyism in the 50s, hippies, anti-war & free love in the 60s & 70s, conspicuous consumption in the 80s, & a backlash of conservatism in the 90s.

So what is our era? Is it the age of terrorism? Of technology? Of war? Of recession? Of new environmental awareness? How would you define the first decade of the 21st c.?
 
My vote is the "age of worldwide communication."

The fact that Susan Boyle's audition videos have been viewed 70 million + times (in what, 2 weeks) is astounding. There are tiny villages all over the world who don't have plumbing or electricity but know who our President is and what he looks like. Youtube was created in early 2005 and one could argue that it forever changed politics--no one could legitimately deny what was captured on film. Google Earth is incredible!Ashton Kutcher has 1 million people following his tweets. Look at this forum--people from around the globe come here for support, advice, laughs. It's pretty amazing. There are no borders on the internet!

Yes, 9/11 was truly an awful, awful day but good can come after the truly awful. Pearl Harbor was followed by many years of darkness, but good things came after that too. JMHO.
 
I think my word would be "oops!" We spent so much time screwing things up, which any Joe-blow could see, but those in charge couldn't. And now we are doggie paddling like hell to keep our heads above water and fix it. So, "oops!"

I personally think I should rule the world. Queen Nan, has a nice ring to it:p

Nan
 
Laura

GREAT POST!!!

Well for starters, it certainly won't be the age of "personal responsibility". I am horrified at how many people are declaring bankruptcy and going into foreclosure. I can't get over how many people have more credit card debt than their home is worth. I can't even begin to fathom that the US has to bail out failing banks because of bad mortgages. YIKES

This may just be the era of GREED. Everyone wanting everything RIGHT NOW. The banks were GREEDY, people were Greedy, CEO's and corporate giants were Greedy.
Does anyone else remember "starter homes". I had one!!! yes, you bought a small house and saved your money and eventually bought a bigger house when children came along etc etc.

And while I think some of the new technology is WONDERFUL, there are also great time wasters out there. Have you seen Facebook?? 2 pages of Mary "just took this quiz", "just played this game", "just gave someone a fake Easter egg" etc etc.

Nan, I should get off my soapbox before I get in trouble, I like Queen Nan too

ellie
 
I'd call it the Age of Distraction. Some many (self-inflicted?) things pulling people in so many directions, they hardly remember to live their lives.

Now if you'll excuse me I have some Facebook quizzes to take. :p
 
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Oooh your posts are all so interesting! It's very cool to see how other people view the world.

Ellie & Sparrow--LOL! I rarely go to FB anymore, partly for that reason. I don't much like that site--it's not conversational enough for me. ;)

P.S. that whole "everyone's a victim" thing kinda bugs me too.
 
Liann said:
How about "The Age of Narcissism, self entitlement and finger pointing" ;)
Click to expand...

There's a great article in Newsweek online titled" Age of Narcissism". Very interesting. It covers all the crap and junk we have been rewarding our kids for with THINGS. thereby making them very narcissitic.


ellie
 
LauraMax said:
in 2060, could you sum up this decade in a single sentence? I started thinking about it when I heard about that poor Freddie Mack CFO this morning, b/c my first thought was "well, that about says it all about our current social climate."

Then I had to backtrack b/c so much more has happened in the last 10 years. I might be superstitious or just totally out of touch, but I feel like our downward spiral started on 9/11.

In the early 20th c. you had the age of expansion, in the 1920s & 30s you had the Great Depression, WWII in the 40s, McCarthyism in the 50s, hippies, anti-war & free love in the 60s & 70s, conspicuous consumption in the 80s, & a backlash of conservatism in the 90s.

So what is our era? Is it the age of terrorism? Of technology? Of war? Of recession? Of new environmental awareness? How would you define the first decade of the 21st c.?
Click to expand...

The death of democracy.
 
At the moment, I'm so over the moon about the wins in Iowa and Vermont, and still kind of elated over the Obamas being the White House, that I'm inclined to think of it as the Equality For All Decade. But of course I have no perspective.

The truth is, that history doesn't fit itself neatly into perfect 10-year chunks. For example, we were only hippies for a few years at the end of the sixties. And the Summer of Love was only one summer. So, it's a question of what's most memorable. My guess is that what we'll remember most is the crashing and burning of the entire financial industry, and how the big bubble we thought would last forever finally burst and we all woke up and realized that the whole thing had been just a dream. The decade of the Big Wake-Up Call? But only hindsight will tell.
 
How about "The decade when our nation's conspicuous consumption finally consumed us all."

I was thinking about this earlier today when I heard yet another song on the radio where the guy was telling the girl of his dreams how she deserved a guy (presumably him) who could give her "a fistful of diamonds and a handful of rings." Like picking a mate is all about finding the one who can give you the most and the best "stuff." So many songs on the pop charts preach the same materialist mantra that our youth are just infected to the hilt with this disease. Makes me glad I have no kids.
 
Liann said:
How about "The Age of Narcissism, self entitlement and finger pointing" ;)
Click to expand...

Are you talking about me?????? You must be talking about me, b/c I'm the center of the universe, & you all know you owe me for being so fabulous. Liann, I think this is all your fault & you need to make amends. :D
 
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